Reinventing the Wheel

Have you ever dealt with a routine challenge and thought to yourself, “Didn’t I deal with this exact same problem last week?”

Of course you have.

Common mistake.

In fact, after you have been in business for a few years chances are good that you get into a fairly predictable routine each week. Unfortunately, even though you see similar challenges week after week, you devise a new way of dealing with them each and every time.

Consider the following scenario: A customer has just called and complained that there is a defect in your product or service. The staff member who answers the phone deals with the problem but never communicates the solution to anyone else. Next week, a different customer calls with the same defect and the phone call is taken by a different staff member.

Guess what happens? That’s right, another member of your staff takes time dealing with a problem that had been solved a week earlier.

Now, keep in mind that this sort of scenario takes place in every single facet of your business – sales, marketing, operations, customer service, accounting, shipping, etc. In other words, you and your staff spend a significant amount of time and effort trying to reinvent the wheel each and every week.

This loss of productivity (in addition to a fairly high level of frustration) is taking a significant toll on the bottom line.

So, how do you stop?

Like most issues facing small business owners, the answer is intellectually simple, yet most owners struggle to implement the solution.

Here goes (drum roll please…) — Buy a 3-ring binder and write the word “Operations Binder” down the spine. Next, create a table of contents that mirrors your business. Typical headings include Marketing, Sales, Operations, Finance, Customer Service and HR.

After you have decided on the main headings, you then carefully consider each of the tasks that need to take place in each of these categories and then document the steps necessary to complete each task. It really is that simple.

If it’s that simple why do we struggle to make it happen?

There are 2 main reasons. First, most business owners don’t make the time to write down these systems and procedures. They will argue that they are too busy taking care of issues and problems to figure out the best way to deal with issues and problems.

Second, for those owners who do document these critical systems, their “operation binders” just get put on a shelf and are rarely referred to in the future.

The key, like most everything for the small business owner, is discipline. If you want to increase the bottom line, you need to have the discipline to execute the simple basics
that will make a difference.

• Do you reinvent the wheel every day in your business?
• How much time and effort does this waste?
• What would you do with the time and effort you free up by systematizing your regular procedures?